Tirane and onwards to Durres, Albania (13 Oct 2012)

We had breakfast and moved on to Tirane, the capital of Albania. It is still drizzling off and on. As expected, traffic in the city was very heavy and drivers in Tirane were less patient compared to other Albanian cities / towns we have visited.

As there is nothing in particular that we wanted to see in the city, we took the quickest and easiest way to cut across and head to Durres. On one of the stretch of road, we came across a row of shops selling insurance. We parked and enquired about green card insurance. After asking around a few of the agents we found out that they only sold green card insurance to Albanian registered vehicle. Foreign registered vehicle coverage is restricted to Albania. Guess we will just have to get our insurance for Europe at the border.

Also, as we had earlier lost our Iphone in Iran, we tried to look for a replacement and saw the 16GB 4S model sold at 85,500 Lek. It was quite expensive and the phone is locked to the local operator, so we did not get it.

We left Tirane and headed for Durres. Traffic was heavy towards Durres with a lot of container lorries, which is understandable as Durres is a port city.

Pyramid shaped building along the highway to Durres. From the signboard, it looks like they sell office equipments. Interesting choice of design.

Athens, Greece (30 Sept 2012)

Today we spent the day in Athens, a city that needs no introduction. Our first stop – The Acropolis.

ACROPOLIS:

When we arrived at about 2pm, the place was swamped with tourist, coupled with the very hot weather meant that we did not enjoy our time here as much as we would have liked to. Every little bit of shade is occupied by tourist seeking a time out from the blistering hot sun.


Dad busy taking photo at the bottom of the staircase leading up to the Propylea.

Live music and archaeological findings in Delphi, Greece (29 Sept 2012)

Today we made our way to Delphi. We passed cotton fields and olive plantations on the way. 

Here are some pics en route to Delphi.


Came across this kantina on the roadside at noon. Since it is lunch time, we decided to try out the food.

Greek Orthodox Monasteries in Meteora, Greece (28 Sept 2012)

METEORA AND GREEK ORTHODOX MONASTERIES:

We arrived at Meteora, a UNESCO world heritage site, and was greeted by steep cliffs and interesting rock formations. Meteora is home to more than 20 Greek Orthodox monasteries built centuries ago; only six remained today. These monasteries were built high on the rock cliffs only accessible by long ladders as the monks in those times found the rock cliffs to be safe from threat. When they felt threatened, the long ladders would be pulled up, cutting access to the monasteries by any unwelcomed visitors.

The Monastery of the Holy Trinity on top of a cliff – built in 1475 and was remodeled many times in 1684, 1689, 1692, 1741.

Thessaloniki, Ancient City of Pella, Vergina Tombs and Dion – Greece (26–27 Sept 2012)

We spent 26th September travelling from Kavala to Thessaloniki. In the village of Amfipoli, we came across the Lion of Amphipolis.

LION OF AMPHIPOLIS:

Tobacco and Ancient Aqueduct (25 Sept 2012)

TOBACCO PLANTATIONS

The next morning, as we drove near the village of Polyanthos, we came across large fields of tobacco plant. At first, we did not know what type of plants they were. When we spotted a farmer and his wife working on one of the fields, we stopped and went to have a look. It was only when the farmer told us what it was that we knew. He was so excited to show us the simple machine he used to pull a string through the collected tobacco leaves, ready for drying out. 


Tobacco plant.

Aegean Coast, Pegasus, Zeus Altar and Alexandreia Troas (19-22 Sept 2012)

After Foca, we continued along the coast towards Canakkale. The views are simply breathtaking as we drove up and down cliffs and negotiated sharp bends along the coastal roads. We decided to skip Istanbul on this leg of the trip and will visit the city on our return journey next year.
 
VIEWS OF THE AEGEAN SEA:


Camakli Village facing the Aegean Sea.

16 August 2012 - Sightseeing at Persepolis and surrounding areas

We woke up early as usual and made our way towards Persepolis, 60km away from Shiraz. We were greeted by a row of trees on both sides of the road as we entered Persepolis. After paying 5,000 Rials each we were in.
Persepolis was founded by Darius the Great in about 518 B.C. as a symbol of his power and a magnificent setting for celebrating New Year Day (or Nawrooz Festival) which coincides with the Spring equinox (c.21st March).